Question
A few days ago i read a saying of Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) which was about interest(riba or sood), i cant completely quote that “hadis” but it was quite clear that “hadis” meant that any work or job related to “interest” (sood) in anyway is not allowed in Islam,my question is that now a days not only banks,but all sort of public and private companies generate capital through loans and ofcourse they have to pay interest on it,and accountants in those companies have to record the interest that is to be paid or yet to be paid, does this mean that the jobs of accountants are not allowed because virtually everywhere accountants have to account for interestwhich under that “hadis” is not allowed?? also i am a student of Chartered Accountancy,CAs have to audit the different accounts of comapines ofcourse including the interest transactions,and they get paid for it,is this also “haram”?..also some CAs earn thei earnings on the basis of “knowledge of law” i.e for example they help people who dont know how to fill their income tax return in accordance with the law and hence charge fee for it??is this also Allowed or not??please answer these questions ,i will be very very thankful.
Allah hafiz
Answer
The Shari’ah (i.e. Islamic Law) prohibits Muslims from taking riba (i.e. interest/usury) from anyone. Hence, if a Muslim lends money he cannot request a predetermined increase upon that money due to the passing of a period of time. What is borrowed from him should be returned in full without any predetermined increase. That is as far as the Shari’ah goes. If a Muslim is employed at an institution that deals with riba then the owners of the institution bear the burden of breaking God’s laws. You, as an accountant or financial officer, are not guilty of any sin related to riba. Employment as an accountant or any person dealing in the finance industry is not and cannot be deemed haram (i.e. forbidden). What would make their job haram is if they actually partake in the transaction by lending money and receiving an increase on it after a period of time. However, working in such organizations can be deemed cooperation in sin because of the mere fact of the business. For further information regarding this issue please see: Is Present Day Banking Based on Riba? As for the hadith that you mention we cannot make a comment on it because it is not clear what you are referring to. Nevertheless, even if such a hadith exists I have already stated what the Shari’ah prohibitions are and this hadith, whatever it may be, does not amend what is clearly laid out in the Shari’ah.
I hope I have clarified the issue.
God knows best.